Wednesday, October 17, 2018

It is clear now that Yogi Adityanath's government has been a complete failure in Uttar Pradesh.

On all fronts, the performance has been poor and lacklustre--development, law and order, jobs, agriculture growth.

Worst, the go-ahead to 'encounters' led to killings in the state and many innocents lost their lives.

Apparently, to shift focus and divert attention from the poor governance, the State government decided to rename Allahabad.

The cabinet okayed the proposal. Allahabad, an ancient city, known for hundreds of years, is suddenly getting a new name. Prayag was a hamlet that already existed and exists today, even has a separate railway station.

But Yogi government went ahead with the decision. This is despite the fact that there are rules and historic names can't be changed. Lawyers have said that they would approach court. Locals have decided to take up the issue.

For now, government has done it. Apparently, Allahabad sounded 'Muslim' and hence it had to be 'Hinduised'. Just like 'Mughalsarai', another place has been renamed. No wonder, there has been criticism from across country and all over the world.

Media groups in foreign countries got another major headline, suggesting how erasing or distorting history is more in vogue in India than doing something meaningful. BJP is known for such moves in the past.

Historians too criticised the move. They said that it was strange as there was no demand from the people who identified themselves as Allahabadi, for at least 400 years. They said that both Prayag and Allahabad have existed together and there is no reason to rename the city and use the word 'Prayagraj'.

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